Wooden modelling tools are the oldest tools in the craft and the least changed. A set is a collection of ends, each shaped for a job, and the useful ones are obvious within an hour of use: a rounded end that presses clay, a flat end that cuts a plane and a point that makes detail.
What the shapes do
A rounded spatula end presses and blends clay into place without cutting. A knife or chisel end cuts a clean plane or a straight edge. A point makes holes, scores lines and picks out detail. A curved end works into a hollow that a straight one cannot reach. Everything in a set is a variation on those four jobs.
Boxwood and why it matters
Traditional tools are boxwood: dense, close grained and resistant to soaking. Cheaper woods swell, splinter and roughen with repeated wetting, which changes the surface they leave on the clay. A boxwood tool used and dried after each session lasts for decades and gets better as it polishes.
Looking after them
Wash and dry them rather than leaving them in a bucket of slop, which is what ruins most sets. A rub with a little oil occasionally keeps the wood from drying and cracking. Tools left wet swell and lose their edge, and a swollen tool leaves a rougher mark than a sharp one.
Wood, metal and rubber together
Wooden tools shape and press, metal tools cut and refine, rubber tools smooth. A modelling session usually uses all three, and the common beginner pattern of owning eight wooden tools and no kidney means half the jobs are being done with the wrong thing.
Questions people ask about clay modelling
What are modelling tools made of?
Traditionally boxwood, which is dense and resists soaking. Cheaper woods swell and roughen with use.
How do I look after wooden tools?
Wash and dry them after use rather than leaving them in water, and oil them occasionally to stop the wood cracking.
Do I need metal tools as well?
Yes. Wood shapes and presses, metal cuts and refines, rubber smooths. Most sessions use all three.